


I wish that I had Shorter's Guy

by signpainter1



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Jealousy, M/M, Memory Loss, Misunderstandings, Pining, Romance, Shorter Wong Lives, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29336061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/signpainter1/pseuds/signpainter1
Summary: After hitting his head after falling on an icy patch, Ash suffers from temporal memory loss. He remembers most things but forgets others. He meets Eiji who he (wrongly) assumes is Shorter's new boyfriend. The problem is he's falling in love with him and feeling incredibly guilting about it.
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji
Comments: 11
Kudos: 181





	I wish that I had Shorter's Guy

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Here's another slight AU one-shot. Same story (kind of) but Shorter's alive and well. I had "Jessy's Girl" going through my head the whole time I wrote this (hence the title of the story). Anyways this story is not bata read so if you see any mistakes that really bother you feel free to point them out.

“When is he going to wake up?”

“The doctor said soon.”

“It’s just weird seeing lying there like that….”

“I know it’s hard.”

Ash lay there listening to the voices. One of them was Shorter’s but he couldn’t identify the other one. He tried to move but found his body unresponsive. He couldn’t even open his eyes. In the darkness, he thought over the events that led to his predicament. Ash had chased a man down the street and slipped on an ice patch then…pain. 

“I wonder when-” the voice Ash didn’t recognize was cut off by the sound of knocking. “Ah, that must be Alex. I’ll get it.” Footsteps moved away as Ash tried again vain to move. The room was quiet for a few seconds as Ash struggled.

“Wake up soon Ash. “Shorter said. “We’re all worried about you.”

Ash gave a mental grunt of frustration and with a final effort forced open his eyes. Instantly his body unlocked. As his vision cleared he found that he was in one of the dingy rooms of his gang’s base. On one side of him, Shorter sat slumped in a chair with his head pressed against his hands.

“Shorter?” Ash croaked. Shorter sat up straight in his chair as his eyes landing on Ash. He gave a whoop of joy and sprang up.

“Hell yeah, you’re awake!” He grinned “Welcome back to the world of the living. How do you feel?”

“Terrible,” Ash said struggling to sit up. “My head feels heavy.” Shorter’s smile faded slightly as he helped Ash sit.

“You hit your head hard.” He said sitting back down. “The doctor said you might suffer temporal memory loss. He said it could last a couple of months. I wasn’t sure if you’d remember me.”

“Oh.” Ash rubbed the side of his head. “Yeah, I remember you.”

“Do you remember who you are?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok how about the members of your gang like Alex, Bones, Kong…” Ash waved a hand irritated.

“Yeah, I know my gang.”

“Ok, how about my gang?”

“Like Sing? Yeah, I remember him.”

“How about Cain’s and his gang?”

Ash paused at that name. Was there another gang he should know of “I’m not sure who that is?” He finally admitted.

“Ok, then how about Max and Jessica?”

“I don’t know who they are either.” Ash frowned. It was weird to think that there were people in his life he didn’t remember. “Who are they?”

“Ehhh, the doctor said it was better to not tell you if you forgot someone. It might, I don’t know, cause you mental stress or something if you tried to remember.” He shrugged.

“Ok.” Ash guessed it didn’t really matter. He would remember them soon anyways. Shorter glanced out the room and Ash became aware of talking in the hallway.

“Eiji’s sure taking his time.”

“Who’s Eiji?” Ash asked. Shorter’s head whipped around to stare at him, an unreadable expression on his face.

“You don’t remember?” he said slowly. Ash shook his head. From Shorter’s reaction, Eiji was someone important. He wasn’t someone from a gang because Shorter had talked to him way too gently when Ash was unconscious. He also didn’t sound like a child, so it wasn’t someone Shorter was taking care of. That left only one option. He must be Shorter’s newest boyfriend. Every couple of months Shorter got a new boyfriend or girlfriend. He always claimed that they were the “one” and wanted Ash to like. That would explain his pained expression. He probably wasn’t looking forward to introducing his boyfriend to Ash again.

“No, I don’t.”

Shorter gave an uneasy chuckle but before he could say anything, the muttering in the hall stopped. A door closed and footsteps approached. 

“Sorry about that.” Eiji’s voice wafted into the room voice. “Alex was just telling me about…oh.” He stopped when he saw Ash awake.

Ash stared at the young man in front of him. He couldn’t imagine where Shorter had found him. Unlike most of his other dates, this one was quite a looker. He was small with a narrow frame but still built. He had soft fluffy dark hair and deep dark eyes. Eiji blinked at him and Ash realized his mouth was slightly open. He closed it as Eiji’s face broke into a grin.

“You’re awake!” he yelled stepped forward. Shorter caught his arm, beckoning to the other room. Eiji followed him frowning. Ash watched them go, listening to their urgent whispers. It wasn’t hard to guess what they were talking about. Shorter was explaining that Ash didn’t remember him. Ash didn’t mind, if anything he welcomed it. He needed this time to collect himself after the initial shock. Eiji’s cuteness had caught him off guard. He was expecting another tattoo ridden punk, not an attractive angel. Everything about Eiji was pretty and Ash wondered how he and Shorter started dating. He racked his brains trying to remember but couldn’t recall anything. After another minute or so they returned.

“Shorter told me that you don’t remember me,” Eiji said sitting down next to Ash’s bed. Ash shook his head.

“No sorry.”

“I see.” Eiji smiled sadly before perking up. “That’s fine! You’ll remember eventually! In the meantime, the doctor said you should stay inside to recover for the rest of the week.”

Ash scowled, not liking the idea of staying put. He hated feeling like a caged animal. Eiji must have seen his expression because he beamed at Ash.

“Don’t worry Ash! I’ll be taking care of you. This week will go really fast!” It was hard not to notice Eiji’s slight accent, especially with his name. Eiji added a small “u” at the end of it. Ash found himself wanting to hear him say his name more.

“Yeah ok.” He muttered vaguely. Eiji, still beaming, turned away for a moment and Ash leaned in to whisper to Shorter.

“Are you ok with this?”

“Yeah, why shouldn’t I be?” Shorter gave him a strange look. Ash felt a twinge of guilt. Shorter didn’t see anything wrong with leaving his boyfriend with Ash alone for a week. He trusted Ash, yet there was Ash checking out Eiji. It was wrong that, when Eiji said that he would take care of him, Ash felt insanely happy. Ash swore he would try to avoid Eiji as much as possible over the next week.

It turned out that avoiding the person who was taking care of you was an impossible task. Eiji didn’t seem to mind hanging with him at all. Soon Ash found himself telling Eiji things he hadn’t told anyone before. There was something about Eiji that was so trustworthy. He took Ash’s words and buried them in his heart, never to be used against him, never to judge. He laughed easily and was funny and witty.

Eiji also had an evil side. Ash learned that on the third day. The night before, he had teased Eiji about his ugly bird shirts. Eiji had pouted so adorably that Ash thought his heart would burst. The next day Eiji got his revenge.

“What’s this?” Ash asked, looking down at the bowl in front of him. The content looked and smelled like vomit. Eiji sat down across from him calmly.

“Natto.” He said simply. “Don’t you remember it?”

“No,” Ash gagged. “It smells as if something curled up and died in it.”

“Oh?” Eiji tilted his head confused. “You used to love it so much. I practically made for you daily.”

“You did?” Ash considered the food in front of him again. If he liked it before it must taste better than it looked. Ash scooped up some and confidently stuck it to him his mouth. The taste was worst than the smell.

“Mmmmm.” He forced a smile trying not to gag. “Yeah, thanks. It really,” He covered his mouth. “hits the spot.”

“I’m glad to hear.” Eiji clapped his hands together. Ash swallowed and took some more. On the third mouthful, he glanced up to find Eiji watching him, his lip twitching and eyes gleaming mischievously. Ash narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he lowered his chopsticks.

“I didn’t like this before, did I?”

“Nope.” Eiji laughed gleefully. “You hate it.” He bent over giggling. “Seeing you pretend to like it was hilarious.” Ash scowled.

“You eat it then.” He challenged. To his surprise, Eiji shrugged and took a mouthful. As he chewed and swallowed Ash waited for him to gag. Instead, his eyes lit up and he gave a small gasp of joy. That was the day Ash learned that Eiji’s favorite food was Natto.

After that, they started pulling small pranks on each other. Ash suggested a movie night and then put on a Sesame Street movie. Eiji had glared at him the whole time while Ash told him, in a serious tone, to take notes for his English. Eiji retaliated by pasting pictures of pumpkins all over Ash’s bedroom walls. It took them hours to get it all off. Ash then made Eiji a sandwich which he filled with mustered after Eiji had complained about how spicy it was. Ash snorted with laugher while Eiji pinched his nose and whined pitifully. A moment later he dodged the sandwich as went sailing at his head.

By the end of the week, Ash realized he didn’t actually have a crush on Eiji. No, he was straight out smitten by him. Everything about Eiji was amazing. Ash had no idea where he came from, but he guessed that heaven was missing an angel. He almost confessed to him one before remembering at the last moment that Eiji was already taken….by his best friend. It made Ash feel overwhelmingly guilty. Instead of avoiding Eiji as a good friend would, he got more invested. It was hard to look at Shorter as he explained all the gang’s activities. Shorter, like a good friend, had looked out for Ash’s men along with his own while Ash stuck inside. It was horrible that Ash thanked him by practically flirting with his boyfriend.

The worst part was that he still wanted Eiji. He couldn’t help it that Eiji’s dark eyes followed him into his dreams. His guilt didn’t stop him from watching Eiji talk and wondering what his lips felt like. Sometimes the guilt would turn into anger. Why did Shorter deserve such an amazing person? Ash hated his jealousy. It was ugly and warped. He hated how much he secretly wished that they would break up. He hated that he kept on telling himself that none of Shorter’s relationships lasted. It would end just like the rest. He didn’t believe it though. Eiji wasn’t like the rest. He was something special and Shorter wouldn’t want to lose him. If Ash was in his friend’s shoes he wouldn’t want to lose Eiji either. Even if he did break up there was no chance Eiji would actually go with him. He was broken. Eiji needed someone like Shorter. Not a hot mess like him.

“Ash, are you listening?”

“Huh?” Ash blinked at Shorter’s and Eiji’s scowling faces.

“Gee man you really zoned out there.” Shorter knocked him on the shoulder. “Are you alright? Maybe you should stay here longer.”

“No, I’m fine!” Ash said quickly. If he stayed then Eiji would stay with him. He didn’t know how much longer he could deal with that.

“If you say so.” Shorter shrugged. “As I was saying Bones and Kong were watching the apartment while you were-”

“What apartment?” Ash interrupted.

“You bought a big expensive one with the money you stole from Gozline.”

“I did?” Ash laughed. “Why would I buy a huge apartment for myself? It’s not like anyone lives with me.” He really hated himself. Was it really that hard to keep the bitterness out of his voice? Shorter and Eiji must have heard it too because both of them froze. Eiji looked shocked and kind of upset and Shorter nervous. Ash instantly regretted his words. Why couldn’t he just be happy for them?

“Right by yourself…” Shorter looked over at Eiji. “If you get too lonely you can come to my place.” His eyes brightened. “Eiji will be there with me.” Eiji looked up, clearly relieved that Shorter had changed the subject. Ash was not happy. He should have known Eiji and Shorter were living together. The thought of it made his blood curled. Without wanting to, he suddenly pictured them snuggled on a couch together watching a movie.

“That’s fine.” He said forcing the thought away. “I’d rather have my space. Three is a crowd after all.”

Over the next two weeks, Ash did his best to avoid Eiji at all costs. He didn’t answer the door when it was Eiji and hurry into the nearest store whenever he saw him coming. After two weeks Shorter called him out on his behavior.

“According to Eiji you’ve been avoiding him.” Shorter crossed his arms. “He’s really upset about it. What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Ash said fighting down his frustration. How was he supposed to win this? How was he supposed to get over his crush if he wasn’t allowed to stay away from Eiji? “He must be imaging it.”

“You sure?” Shorter frowned deepen. “He saw you dart into a store earlier today,” Ash swore silently. He should have been more careful.

“I…” how could he explain this? How do you tell your best friend you want his boyfriend? “It’s complicated.”

“Are you angry at him?

“No!” Ash stared horrified at Shorter. “Does he think that?”

“Of course, he does. It’s really bothering him. He misses you.” Ash looked away. He hated the idea of Eiji being upset because of him.

“I’ll stop.”

By the end of the month, Ash was going to lose his mind. He tried to balance his time with Eiji and without Eiji in order to get over him. It wasn’t working very well. Every second with Eiji was two steps forward and his time alone was only a step back. The only relief Ash got was that Eiji and Shorter weren’t very clingy when they were around him. They never kissed or shot each other loving looks. Ash hoped it wasn’t because they noticed how weird he was acting about their relationship. They shouldn’t feel the need to hide it for him. He decided it was time to tell Shorter the truth. Maybe then Shorter would be able to keep Eiji away from him.

Ash decided to confront his friend during game night the evening. They were at Ash’s place playing monopoly. Eiji sat on the floor scowling at his game piece which was currently in jail. Shorter lounged on the couch counting his money. Even though Eiji suggested the game, he was terrible at it.

“It’s partly just luck anyways” Eiji complained. “You just got lucky.”

“Surreee.” Shorter kissed his stack of bills. “And you are unlucky.”

“He does have a point,” Ash said from his place on the floor. “The game is practically over, and you only have a few buildings on the board.”

“That’s because I spent half the time in jail! How’s that my fault?”

“Neither of us know how you managed that.” Shorter said lazily. “But you’re about to die.” A buzz filled the room indicting that someone was downstairs calling the apartment. Shorter spring up. “After I get the pizza that is!” He sauntered off. Ash watched him go.

“I’m going down with him.” He decided. Now would be a good time to confront Shorter about Eiji. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Yeah ok,” Eiji said absentmindedly still glaring at the board.

Ash hurried down the stairs until he was at the first floor. There he stopped and took a long deep breath in. He could do it. Now was the time to confront his friend. What’s the worst that could happen? Shorter could get upset and stop talking to him…. Ash shook his head. That wasn’t helping. He needed to come clean. Steeling his nerves, he opened the door outside.

“Stop it.” The delivery girl giggled.

“It’s true!” Shorter said smoothly resting his hand on the wall next to her. The girl giggle again and looked down at her watch.

“I do have to get back to my shift.” She said reluctantly.

“Well, then how about we finish this conversation tonight.” Shorter wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Mine or yours.”

“Yours for sure.” Shorter purred. “We’ll get interrupted if we go to mine.”

Ash’s breath caught in his throat as he staggered back inside before Shorter or the girl noticed him. He took the stairs instead of the elevator giving himself something to do. He couldn’t believe it. Shorter was cheating on Eiji. Ash had no idea how anyone could cheat on Eiji. He was too good.

Ash’s mind was spinning. Maybe he just misunderstood the conversation. Maybe Shorter wasn’t flirting. Even as he thought this Ash knew it wasn’t true. Ash knew how Shorter flirted. He knew that was what he was doing. Ash didn’t know what to do. He wanted to tell Eiji, but he didn’t want to call Shorter out. Shorter had been with him during his worst of times. He was his best friend. Ash would speak to him first. Maybe he really was missing something. Ash hoped that was the case as he arrived on their floor.

By the time he got to the apartment door, Shorter was exiting the elevator with the pizza. He saw Ash and raised an eyebrow.

“Are you alright? You’re out of breath.”

“I…saw you…outside.” Ash panted.

“Oh yeah?” Shorter grinned wolfishly. “She’s cute isn’t she.” Ash couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His heart ached as he looked at his friend.

“You can’t do that,” Ash said pleased. Shorter’s smile faded.

“Why not?”

“Because of Eiji!” Ash hissed.

“What about him?” Shorter asked completely confused. It took everything in Ash not to punch him. Did Shorter really not care at all about Eiji?

“You’re cheating on him!” Ash’s voice rose for a moment before becoming pleading.. “You’re my best friend but I can’t let you hurt him. Please Shorter!”

“Hold on?” Shorter put his hand on his forehead. “You think I’m cheating on Eiji?”

“Yes!” Ash snapped. “I know you two are dating. I figured it out when I woke up.” He balled his fists. “Do you have any idea how lucky you are to date someone like him? Do you have any idea how much I would give to be in your place? How could you hurt him like this?” Ash knew he was raising his voice, but he didn’t care. All the feelings he had kept under lock were pouring out of him. Shorter stared at him his mouth slightly open.

“Damn Ash.” He whispered. “I…” he took a deep breath. “Let’s go inside. We need to clear up this misunderstanding.” Ash wanted to start shouting again. He knew there wasn’t a misunderstanding. No matter how much Shorter twisted it Ash knew he was cheating. Instead, he held back and nodded mutely. Shorter wanted to talk it out. That was fine.

Without another word both entered the apartment again. Ash expected Shorter to go to the bedroom but, to his surprise, he made a beeline straight for the living room Eiji looked up as they entered.

“Is everything alright?” he asked surveying them with his dark eyes. “I thought I heard yelling.” Ash’s heart wrenched painfully. Was Shorter planning on breaking up with Eiji right here and now?

“We have quite an interesting situation on our hands.” Shorter said sitting down and placing the pizza on the table. “You see I was flirting with the delivery girl.” Ash winced at his words and shot him a look. He could have been more tactful than that.

“Is it the one with the red hair?” Eiji asked. Ash turned to him in horror.

“It doesn’t bother you that your boyfriend’s cheating?” Ash finally got out. Now it was Eiji’s turn to stare at him.

“My boyfriend…” Eiji squinted at Ash. “How did you know? Did you remember…wait cheating? Why?” He suddenly looked hurt. “With who?”

“Hold on!” Shorter cut in. “He means me. What I was going to say was, afterward Ash confronted me and told me he thinks we are dating.”

“You’re not?” Ash’s whole world collapsed. “Wait…you’re sure?”

“Don’t you think I’d know if I was dating Eiji?” Shorter snorted.

“But…but.” Ash tried to wrap his mind around this. “That doesn’t make sense. Eiji has no reason to be here.” He turned to Eiji “You’re clearly invested in all of this even though you can walk away anytime you like. You must be deeply connected to _someone_ here.”

“Well, you’re not wrong about that. He _is_ deeply invested in someone.” Shorter said pointedly. “But he’s not _my_ boyfriend.”

“Then whose?” Ash asked crossing his arms. “Bones? Sing? Alex? Kong?” Shorter shook his head.

“Eiji maybe you should tell him. It’ll be better for his mental health to know rather than trying to guess.”

“Yeah you’re right.” Eiji suddenly looked very shy. “Ash you’re…uh, my boyfriend. “He looked down at his hands, a light blush spreading across his cheeks. Ash surveyed him for a moment letting his words sink in.

“I’m your boyfriend?”

Eiji covered his face. “I know it’s hard to believe.” He muttered.

“It is.”

Eiji winced at his words. He dropped his hands and looked sadly at Ash.

“It’s ok if you don’t believe me. Even if you do, you don’t need to date me just because we were a thing before you lost your memory. Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Ash said gently “Trust me I’d love to be your boyfriend but aren’t you setting your bar kind of low? It doesn’t seem realistic. Why would you choose me?”

“Why?” Eiji frowned at him. “Because you’re brave and smart. Because I love talking to you.. Because you pull annoying pranks on me. I love everything about you.”

“If you still don’t believe us, why don’t you call someone to double-check.” Shorter suggested. “say to them ‘I just remembered that Eiji and I are dating.’ See how they react.”

Ash raised his eyebrows but did as Shorter said. He pulled out his phone and dialed Alex’s number. After a few rings, his second in command answered.

“Hello?”

“Alex,” Ash said. “I just remembered that Eiji and I are dating.” It was quite on the other end. Ash guessed Alex was probably confused. He probably had no idea what Ash was talking about.

“Oh, thank god you remember.” Alex sounded relieved. “It hurt to see him so dejected. Do you want us to move Eiji’s stuff back to your guys apartment now?”

“Yeah sure.” Ash muttered. Alex said they would move Eiji’s stuff back. That meant Eiji lived with him. They must have removed Eiji’s stuff to Shorter’s apartment when Ash didn’t remember. Suddenly the image of Shorter and Eiji snuggling on the couch returned only it was Ash there instead of Shorter. Ash hung up the phone and turned his attention back to Eiji and Shorter. It was true then, Eiji was really his boyfriend.

Eiji was regarding him nervously his fingers playing with the hem of a blanket. Shorter was looking between them.

“Again, if you don’t want to.” Eiji finally said. “that’s fine.”

“No.” Ash shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’ve wanted you all week. I felt so bad because I thought I was in love with Shorter’s boyfriend. I hated my jealousy.”

“Is that why you were acting all weird?” Shorter laughed. “So dramatic!”

“I’m all yours Ash.” Eiji said smiling. “As long as you want me.” He held open his arms. Ash snuggled in them. Everything he wanted was here. It was like a part of him was completed with Eiji.

“Forever.” He muttered. Pulling back his head he stared at Eiji, a warm feeling filled his chest. “I really can’t wait to remember all this.”

:

It took another month for Ash’s memories to return. Late one night Ash woke suddenly from a dream. It wasn’t a nightmare, but it was weird enough dream to leave him wide awake. Lying in bed Ash was debating whether or not to get a late-night snack when suddenly his memories came flooding back. Ash sat up with a gasp. Next to him Eiji groaned and rolled over.

“What is it?” He asked sleepily. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“No.” Ash trembled as he turned to his boyfriend. “I remember everything.” Eiji sat up his dark eyes gleaming.

“You do?” he said hopefully. Ash took his hand and pulled him closer.

“Yes.” He whispered. “I do. Thanks for putting up with me these last two months. It couldn’t have been easy.”

“You had it worse. You had to live with someone you didn’t remember at all.”

“That wasn’t too bad.” Ash smiled slightly. “I got to fall in love with you all over again.” Even in the darkness, he knew that Eiji was blushing. “Now I know. Even if I forget you I will always love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it! I doubt Shorter let Ash live that one down. If you enjoyed the story, disliked it, or have any thoughts about it feel free to leave a comment.


End file.
